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[Vick]

I particularly liked how they turned nate into a scared bitch that is terrified to tell his wife that he was going on an adventure with his lost brother.

Unlike some other recent sequels we've seen, Nate in U4 is still the same exact character from the OG trilogy.

The same chick that fell in love with him while he was doing the same indiana jones stuff in the first 2 games

Eh..

The same chick that left him after Drake's Fortune because of his lifestyle?

Same chick that he divorced with after Among Thieves?

Their relationship in Uncharted 4 is on the razor's edge. The entire thing and the way it was done is super relatable for a married man, no matter how misogynistic he might be.
Even what some could find the most "extreme" exchange in the game, Nate offering to do the dishes after Elena cooked, well if you almost got your wife killed multiple times during the years including a near death experience all because of your obsessions, from time to time offering a little help after she cooked for you should be understandable.

Only thing that went too far in the game is Nadine beating him and Sam. Which stands out in this game and yet is something you would find in basically every single game made in the last 8 years.

Yes indeed. I am just saying, its also amazing they elevate the game’s visual to a new level on PC

In what way?

As explained in this post:

PC version had some downgrades compared to the PS5 release:

While offering virtually no improvement. And PS5 version itself had many downgrades compared to the OG release:

Analysis - Not even Naughty Dog can Remaster their own games

Porting games like Uncharted 4 is not an easy task, to say the least. Especially in a relatively short time, and especially if bundled with titles such as The Lost Legacy. However, i find fascinating how nobody spotted the huge number of little downgrades the games got in the Legacy of Thieves...

www.neogaf.com

Best Uncharted 4/Lost Legacy version will be on PC, but only when the OG gets emulated. Still a travesty the current gen release on both PS5 and PC did nothing to improve shadows on Chapter 12 and 17, when they simply needed to unlock the graphical settings of other Chapters.

Nadine hair still being broken on PS5/PC is nothing less than hilarious.

Here some gameplay screenshots from the PS4 Pro version's earlier Chapters (first person shots are taken by simply aiming with the HS39 with no HUD or by turning the camera):

PC version from a visual point of view looks virtually identical to the same game released in 2016, with many downgrades on top, and slightly better IQ.

I get it would be asking the impossible for a quick and cheap release like this was, but the game on PC should have improved geometry across the board, ported the scattering shadows on water tech from Chapter 10 to all other Chapters, included RT shadows or at least Nvidia PCSS on many Chapters.. etc. etc.
Uncharted 4 could look legitimately better than 99% of games on the market, if they did a proper PC version "elevating the game's visuals to a new level". But said version doesn't exist unfortunately.

 

[GymWolf]

Unlike some other recent sequels we've seen, Nate in U4 is still the same exact character from the OG trilogy.


Eh..

The same chick that left him after Drake's Fortune because of his lifestyle?

Same chick that he divorced with after Among Thieves?

Their relationship in Uncharted 4 is on the razor's edge. The entire thing and the way it was done is super relatable for a married man, no matter how misogynistic he might be.
Even what some could find the most "extreme" exchange in the game, Nate offering to do the dishes after Elena cooked, well if you almost got your wife killed multiple times during the years including a near death experience all because of your obsessions, from time to time offering a little help after she cooked for you should be understandable.

Only thing that went too far in the game is Nadine beating him and Sam. Which stands out in this game and yet is something you would find in basically every single game made in the last 8 years.


In what way?

As explained in this post:


PC version from a visual point of view looks virtually identical to the same game released in 2016, with many downgrades on top, and slightly better IQ.

I get it would be asking the impossible for a quick and cheap release like this was, but the game on PC should have improved geometry across the board, ported the scattering shadows on water tech from Chapter 10 to all other Chapters, included RT shadows or at least Nvidia PCSS on many Chapters.. etc. etc.
Uncharted 4 could look legitimately better than 99% of games on the market, if they did a proper PC version "elevating the game's visuals to a new level". But said version doesn't exist unfortunately.

Yesh she left him, then they divorced but in the end she was still with him and the result was him renouncing to his strongest passion for her, talk about having your balls inside a cage for a woman...

Sorry but i don't buy it, the dude is a free spirit and clearly unhappy with his current job, he should never be worried to say the truth to his wife, you can't change a man like nate, he is not your average working husband, if you love him you should take the whole package not just the part you like, she knew who nate is deep inside.

Yeah he still crack jokes and shit so you can say he is the same character alright (i guess you are talking about ellie in your example).

 

[TheDarkPhantom]

Another ND masterpiece, enjoy it OP

 

[BigLee74]

The uncharted series wil be the first games I get and play should I ever buy a PS again.

Definitely feel Ive missed out on those!

 

[Vick]

Yesh she left him, then they divorced but in the end she was still with him and the result was him renouncing to his strongest passion for her, talk about having your balls inside a cage for a woman...

Sorry but i don't buy it, the dude is a free spirit and clearly unhappy with his current job, he should never be worried to say the truth to his wife, you can't change a man like nate, he is not your average working husband, if you love him you should take the whole package not just the part you like.

Yeah he still crack jokes and shit so you can say he is the same character, it's not like he talk about having to lie to his wife for 90% of the game, but actions count more than words.

My dear buddy.. you're 100% right on every sentence, and the game itself agrees with every single sentece as well as that's the entire point of the game.

Nate cannot change, he is and always will be a free spirit. And Elena cannot keep pretending they can live a normal life and must finally accept who her husband is.

The entire damn game revolves around this, and all gets resolved in a masterful manner. This is why the ending is so perfect.

 

[GymWolf]

My dear buddy.. you're 100% right on every sentence, and the game itself agrees with every single sentece as well as that's the entire point of the game.

Nate cannot change, he is and always will be a free spirit. And Elena cannot keep pretending they can live a normal life and must finally accept who her husband is.

The entire damn game revolves around this, and all gets resolved in a masterful manner. This is why the ending is so perfect.

So what is incorrect about what i said previously?

The dude is scared to tell her the truth until she finally realize that she can't change him (woah, what a revelation after so many years together) but until that point, the dude has to lie throught his teeth to make her happy, do a job that he doesn't like, lying about his brother or that they are going into an adventure together after 15 years of absence, if that is not being scared like a bitch (i'm obviously using strong words on purpose), i don't know what is...you can keep the bitch part out if that is the problem

 

[Vick]

So what is incorrect about what i said previously?

You said "they turned him into..".

Nate's always the same.

The dude is scared to tell her the truth until she finally realize that she can't change him (woah, what a revelation after so many years together)

It's not that she realize this, that already happened in Drake's Fortune, she finally has to accepts "he is not your average working husband, and take the whole package not just the part you like" and fully embrace it.

In the game prior:

Nate: You love all this as much as I do.

Elena: No.

but until that point, the dude has to lie throught his teeth to make her happy, do a job that he doesn't like, lying about his brother or that they are going into an adventure together after 15 years of absence, if that is not being scared like a bitch (i'm obviously using strong words on purpose), i don't know what is...you can keep the bitch part out if that is the problem

It's not being "scared like a bitch", sorry man.

He simply knows (better yet, thinks) all too well he would lose her for good, forever, if he doesn't act this way given how precarious their relationship is when A Thief's End starts. Loving someone you made suffer for years and almost got killed multiple times, knowing you can't push things even a millimeter further doesn't make you a bitch. If anything, it means being a real man.

But all of this gets confronted and resolved during the game, leading to a perfect end.

 

[GymWolf]

You said "they turned him into..".

Nate's always the same.


It's not that she realize this, that already happened in Drake's Fortune, she finally has to accepts "he is not your average working husband, and take the whole package not just the part you like" and fully embrace it.

In the game prior:

Nate: You love all this as much as I do.

Elena: No.


It's not being "scared like a bitch", sorry man.

He simply knows (better yet, thinks) all too well he would lose her for good, forever, if he doesn't act this way given how precarious their relationship is when A Thief's End starts. Loving someone you made suffer for years and almost got killed multiple times, knowing you can't push things even a millimeter further doesn't make you a bitch. If anything, it means being a real man.

But all of this gets confronted and resolved during the game, leading to a perfect end.

He goes from being an happy adventurer to be an husband with a job he doesn't like and forced to lie to cover his passion, they definitely turned him into something different, the dude wasn't a 15 years old boy in the previous games, he was already a formed man with a strong personality and ideology, you don't change so radically without something forcing that change on you.

I guess we agree to disagree and as you can tell, i don't really give much fucks about the game to continue this discussion any further, let's just say that i prefer younger shithead u1-2 nate over lying husband u4 nate.

 

[Vick]

He goes from being an happy adventurer to be an husband with a job he doesn't like and forced to lie to cover his passion, they definitely turned him into something different, the dude wasn't a 15 years old boy in the previous games, he was already a formed man with a strong personality and ideology, you don't change so radically without something forcing that change on you.

Oh well, let's agree to disagee then.

He wasn't an "happy adventurer" in the OG trilogy, he was a man who couldn't be himself while being engaged with Elena at the same time, as obviously implied by the fact they were never together anymore at the start of each Uncharted.

This gets finally resolved in Uncharted 4. Point of the game is he is and always will be Nathan Drake, only this time supported by his wife who finally managed to accept and embrace him for Better or Worse.

 

[GymWolf]

Oh well, let's agree to disagee then.

He wasn't an "happy adventurer" in the OG trilogy, he was a man who couldn't be himself while being engaged with Elena at the same time, as obviously implied by the fact they were never togheter anymore at the start of each Uncharted.

This gets finally resolved in Uncharted 4. Point of the game is he is and always will be Nathan Drake, only this time supported by his wife who finally managed to accept and embrace him for Better or Worse.

I don't rememeber, what does he end up doing after you finish the game? like an adventurer but "safe" type of work or some shit?

 

[Melfice7]

The best gameplay in all uncharteds and naturally the best graphics too bad the story is a slog (good in a first playthrough but terrible on replays)

 

[Vick]

I don't rememeber, what does he end up doing after you finish the game? like an adventurer but "safe" type of work or some shit?

Yep. Same adventurer life, for both of them, only "kinda legal".

(good in a first playthrough but terrible on replays)

Opposite experience here. Didn't like it at all at release next to the OG trilogy due to the tone shift, but it gets better and better on replays and as the years go by.

 

[GymWolf]

Yep. Same adventurer life, for both of them, only "kinda legal".

Hopefully he doesn't mass murder a small city worth of mercenaries during these legal adventures

 

[The Cockatrice]

Gonna replay the entire series again soon. We really are starved of this kind of gems these days. I dont think the new Indiana Jones game can be a better Indiana Jones than Drake.

 

[Melfice7]

Opposite experience here. Didn't like it at all at release next to the OG trilogy due to the tone shift, but it gets better and better on replays and as the years go by.

First playthrough for me was fine i appreciated the tone shift and enjoyed pretty much every angle of the story, but on a replay theres just too many slow paced areas

Nothing beats uncharted's 2 almost flawless pace

 

[sainraja]

Uncharted was a special series. I've enjoyed them all. I don't think I can pick a favorite but the first one is a special game for me. I played it a ton and loved the twist at the end, I also thought it was funny how Elena was picking up on clues about them and mentioned it to Nathan, they both would end up dismissing it, saying "no way" or something along those lines. I would love another but not sure how it will turn out given the current gaming climate.

 

[Melfice7]

Hopefully he doesn't mass murder a small city worth of mercenaries during these legal adventures

keyword is mercenaries, as far as i remember, we as drake never initiate shootouts, its all in self defense against pirates/rival factions

 

[yet_another_alt]

Just a random fact, I didnt know until recently, but thought it was pretty cool. The face model for Cassie in Uncharted 4 is the actress who will play Abby in the TLOU HBO show. She's must be a big fan of Naughty Dog.

That is interesting. I didn't even know there was a face model. I just assumed Naughty Dog made most of everything from scratch.

 

[GymWolf]

keyword is mercenaries, as far as i remember, we as drake never initiate shootouts, its all in self defense against pirates/rival factions

I mean, if i remember well (huge if), in u4 rafe legally pay to explore the place and you start the fights from stealth so you are technically both trespassing and killing first


Let's just say that the villains are usually huge pieces of shit with not-so-good intention so he get a bit of moral ground (he is still kinda of a thief), i don't perfectly remember all the enemy factions in all 4 games.

 

[Vick]

Hopefully he doesn't mass murder a small city worth of mercenaries during these legal adventures

But I want him to!
My favorite Uncharted is when it's a genociding mass murder TPS set in tropical places searching for ancient treasures/lost civilizations.

Gonna replay the entire series again soon. We really are starved of this kind of gems these days.

Yes we are. So damn much.. I'm so starved of Uncharted hearing the Uncharted theme in Astro Bot and playing the Uncharted level almost made me cry for fuck sake.

I dont think the new Indiana Jones game can be a better Indiana Jones than Drake.

I am looking forward to Indiana Jones as it's actually my second most anticipated game, but I'm not expecting it to be even a tenth of what Uncharted was.

Nothing beats uncharted's 2 almost flawless pace

But my favorite pace, by a mile, is actually Drake's Fortune.

keyword is mercenaries, as far as i remember, we as drake never initiate shootouts, its all in self defense against pirates/rival factions

Yep.

I'm still furious at all the RETARDED "ludonarrative dissonance" criticism Uncharted got from some smooth brains.

Fuck, The Last of Us II only exists because of the hilarious thought "what if random NPC #5439 we killed had a family?". lmao

 

[chilichote]

It is this moment when Elena understands and accepts that Drake is who he is and cannot do otherwise:

Spoiler: now it's working^^

 

[Vick]

It is this moment when Elena understands and accepts that Drake is who he is and cannot do otherwise:

The comments under the video:

 

[Games of Today]

I never played Uncharted but I kinda wanna try this. Silly question with a potentially obvious answer, do I need to play the first three games?

You don't need to no. But there are quite a few sections throughout that reference them of course. The pay off is better if you play them in order. But the way that this game ends, sets you up to play Uncharted 1 as your second game if you're a new player which is pretty cool.

 

[ItJustWorks]

.

I vastly prefer the gameplay and themes of tlou over sony indiana jones so i'm always gonna chose tlou over unchy.
But u1 and 2 were good fun, especially 2.

Yeah but I think people really forget that nothing like uncharted 2 was done like that at the time. It wasn't just a "good game" it was one of THE games. A landmark. An achievement in the medium.

And that's not just a me opinion, that was what it really was in 2009. It saved ps3 basically, and turned the tides of that generation.

I think now you have alot of young gamers that didn't play it on release, so it's not getting talked about with the reverence it should. Now it's getting blended in with other uncharted games which were not quite as universally well recieved. Then TLOU happened.

 

[GymWolf]

Yeah but I think people really forget that nothing like uncharted 2 was done like that at the time. It wasn't just a "good game" it was one of THE games. A landmark. An achievement in the medium.

And that's not just a me opinion, that was what it really was in 2009. It saved ps3 basically, and turned the tides of that generation.

I think now you have alot of young gamers that didn't play it on release, so it's not getting talked about with the reverence it should. Now it's getting blended in with other uncharted games which were not quite as universally well recieved. Then TLOU happened.

Sure, unchy2 was groundbreaking at the times, maybe not gameplay wise (climbing and shooting were pretty weak) but in terms of spectacle and getting so close to an action movie.

 

[darthkarki]

Yesh she left him, then they divorced but in the end she was still with him and the result was him renouncing to his strongest passion for her, talk about having your balls inside a cage for a woman...

Sorry but i don't buy it, the dude is a free spirit and clearly unhappy with his current job, he should never be worried to say the truth to his wife, you can't change a man like nate, he is not your average working husband, if you love him you should take the whole package not just the part you like, she knew who nate is deep inside.

Yeah he still crack jokes and shit so you can say he is the same character alright (i guess you are talking about ellie in your example).

My dear buddy.. you're 100% right on every sentence, and the game itself agrees with every single sentece as well as that's the entire point of the game.

Nate cannot change, he is and always will be a free spirit. And Elena cannot keep pretending they can live a normal life and must finally accept who her husband is.

The entire damn game revolves around this, and all gets resolved in a masterful manner. This is why the ending is so perfect.

So what is incorrect about what i said previously?

The dude is scared to tell her the truth until she finally realize that she can't change him (woah, what a revelation after so many years together) but until that point, the dude has to lie throught his teeth to make her happy, do a job that he doesn't like, lying about his brother or that they are going into an adventure together after 15 years of absence, if that is not being scared like a bitch (i'm obviously using strong words on purpose), i don't know what is...you can keep the bitch part out if that is the problem

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills... did I play a totally different game? I don't think anyone here remembers what actually happened in the game, or paid attention.

Nowhere in any of the games is Elena presented as someone who doesn't want adventures or is trying to tie Nate down. I have no idea where you are getting this idea from. Adventure is how they met, and even after they split after U1, they met up again because she was on her own adventure in U2. This is absolutely who she is.

In U4, the reason they are where they are at the start is because Nate mistakenly thinks that settling down with a simple 9-5 is what he's "supposed" to do as a mature married man (and that that's what Elena wants), and that he wants to take care of and protect Elena but underestimates her capability and her own desire for adventure.

Elena is the one pushing him to take the more dangerous/adventurous job with the salvage company, because she knows he wants that and she's totally up for it.

In the big scene at the motel where Elena is in the room when Nate walks in and everything hits the fan, it's made abundantly clear the problem is not that Nate wanted to go on an adventure, it's that he lied about it, because he's foolish, selfish, and doesn't trust Elena. THAT is the problem - Nate is immature and a bit of an idiot when it comes to relationships. If he had just COMMUNICATED with Elena at the beginning when Sam showed up, she 1000% would have understood and you bet your ass she would have been with them from the start.

And of course this is all cemented in the epilogue where we find they've been continuing their adventures ever since. That's all she wanted - to do it together.

 

[ItJustWorks]

Uncharted 3 most definitely had some parts that dragged but 4 is just gaming perfection like shown above it just moves better than any other game

Mechanics wise sure, uc4 was improved. But to me, it didn't have better pacing. In fact that's when the community got too high brow and made Naughty Dog insecure about "set pieces" so they would have these gameplay sections in UC4 where it was just an open jungle gym and enemies in it and you go crazy.

Whereas uc2 kept you guessing more with its pacing. Every encounter had a reason, and set up the storytelling. Not so much in Uc4 or Uc3. Neil Druckman has an issue with this IMO.

 

[ResilientBanana]

Crazy how good a game can look when you don’t force a copy and paste open world template on it.

Fair, but uncharted games are very much on rails and linear as fuck.

 

[MadchesterManc]

To be fair a lot of last gen stuff can still look good today when released from the shackles of 1080/30

 

[proandrad]

Fair, but uncharted games are very much on rails and linear as fuck.

My type of game. I hate how game reviewers have convinced the game industry that linear aways equals bad.

 

[Vick]

Fair, but uncharted games are very much on rails and linear as fuck.

Uncharted 4 has many open map Chapters you freely drive vehicles in, with optional areas and encounters. 90% of the encounters in the entire game give you total freedom on how to engage.
Lost Legacy at one point is an actual free roam game.

First three games, linear as fuck, sure, but less "on rails" than Gears of War, which kind of served as a template to expand on with verticality and exploration.

The Order: 1886, Hellblade, Ryse, those are the kind of games fitting your description.

Nowhere in any of the games is Elena presented as someone who doesn't want adventures or is trying to tie Nate down. I have no idea where you are getting this idea from. Adventure is how they met, and even after they split after U1, they met up again because she was on her own adventure in U2. This is absolutely who she is.

It's not that she is actively trying to tie Nate down, but she indirectly does because of how he feel he needs to behave after that many close calls.

In U4, the reason they are where they are at the start is because Nate mistakenly thinks that settling down with a simple 9-5 is what he's "supposed" to do as a mature married man (and that that's what Elena wants), and that he wants to take care of and protect Elena but underestimates her capability and her own desire for adventure.

Elena is the one pushing him to take the more dangerous/adventurous job with the salvage company, because she knows he wants that and she's totally up for it.

True.

In the big scene at the motel where Elena is in the room when Nate walks in and everything hits the fan, it's made abundantly clear the problem is not that Nate wanted to go on an adventure, it's that he lied about it, because he's foolish, selfish, and doesn't trust Elena. THAT is the problem

Not really no.
Saying he doesn't "trust" Elena isn't exactly a proper way to describe the ordeal.

- Nate is immature and a bit of an idiot when it comes to relationships. If he had just COMMUNICATED with Elena at the beginning when Sam showed up, she 1000% would have understood and you bet your ass she would have been with them from the start.

And of course this is all cemented in the epilogue where we find they've been continuing their adventures ever since. That's all she wanted - to do it together.

Eh.. Elena also had her arc during the game, and her attitute towards both their lifestyle and husband changes during the game. All of this would have never happened if things were as you're describing them.

 

[Guerilla Munch]

I have yet to play a PS5 game that wowed me like so many PS4 games did. Uncharted 4, Days Gone, Mad Max, Death Stranding, MGSV, Driveclub, The Order, The Last of Us 2, Ghost of Tsushima, Battlefront, RDR2, Hatsuni Miku Project Diva X, etc. All of these games still look incredible, especially to the unwashed masses.

Nintendo are definitely making the right choice in using cheap PS4 level hardware for Switch 2. That seems to be the pinnacle of development cost vs time vs output

 

[RJMacready73]

Not only a visual masterpiece but the way the levels are set out and designed is also just incredible, I love the UC games and would love to see the first 3 remastered with UC level graphics tbh

 

[darthkarki]

Not really no.
Saying he doesn't "trust" Elena isn't exactly a proper way to describe the ordeal.

How would you describe it then? He says he didn't tell her because he "had to protect her", meaning he didn't trust her to be able to handle the truth, and she explains exactly what she's (understandably and rightfully) upset about right here:



"You lied to me. For weeks."

Honesty and openness are fundamental to a marriage, so yes, lying like this is foolish, selfish, and idiotic.

Eh.. Elena also had her arc during the game, and her attitute towards both their lifestyle and husband changes during the game. All of this would have never happened if things were as you're describing them.

Can you give an example that demonstrates Elena did not want Nate to adventure or help his brother?

 

[Danny22]

Naughty dog's and several other's developers ps4 games so much longer than the ps3 version to the point that they come off bloated. And i wonder if this will keep increasing when they finally release a ps5 game.

 

[Red Crayon Aristocrat]

I didn't get around to playing it until 2019, which seemed like a while at the time, but it completely blew me away, it's amazing how great it still looks almost ten years after its initial release, one thing I've yet to see anyone mention are the sequences where you're underwater which are INSANE.

In some ways this is the evolutionary end point for gaming, this is what we always dreamed games could look like, this game looked like what we were lead to believe PS3 games looked like and really should have looked like, with rare exceptions only did the PS4 truly did seem like a "next gen" leap over the PS2 generation.

After this point the industry gets hijacked by political extremism and everything has simply been getting worse since, this is one of the last times a game in the western AAA sphere would have been developed as primarily a piece of, ya know, entertainment and not a middle finger to political enemies.

This and Lost Legacy are the last time I consider anything from Naughty Dog as actually existing, a Naughty Dog run by Neil Druckmann is not a Naughty Dog I will ever play, UC4 ends it on a perfect note where Cassie is playing Crash and she has a literal naughty dog as a pet, a perfect end to an insane 20 year run (but it's over, oh boy is it over now)

People complaining about the pacing are missing the point, there's something to be said for a game where you're supposed to simply stop and LOOK at things, soak up the vibes, the game almost has a vacation vibe to it at times, you're supposed to want to just hang around in some of the environments, the only time where I agree the pace was too slow was some of the final hours of the game, like when you're in that cave, it certainly starts to pad it out near the end, but most of the game I was loving every moment, I liked the relaxed pace.

 

[drotahorror]

Absolutely right.. if i got to play games with this quality at 60 fps for the whole ps5 gen I wouldn't mind at all ... we would get more optimized and faster games released... imho graphics pushing in this gen has been to much diminishing returns for crappy perfomance.

Just add the cutscene models as gameplay and boom, game looks dope for next gen.